While it's now time to watch hawks and falcons dramatically
migrating south, it's also time to start thinking about hunting
with them. The falconry season opens Saturday in Massachusetts for ducks
and coot. I spoke recently with master falconer Michael Krup of Concord,
who soon had me wishing I was a participant.

Falconry is one of the most exciting and challenging forms of
hunting, requiring time, commitment, dedication, and teamwork with a
magnificent hunting partner intrinsically more skilled than humans.
Today, there are only 54 falconry permits in Massachusetts (19 Masters,
25 General, and 10 Apprentice). There would doubtless be many more
falconers if sportsmen knew how to get started -- and if falconry
weren't so demanding.

Krup entertained me, sharing the tradition's romantic origins
in the vast open grassland steppes of Mongolia and its spread across
Asia to the Middle East. Nomadic tribes like the Mongols and Kazaks
hunted big ground birds, such as bustards, there. The sport was
eventually introduced to Europe by returning Crusaders who were
enchanted by the sport.

Falconry remains largely the sport of aristocrats and the very
wealthy in the Middle East, but here in America, there are no class
prerequisites.

All you need to do to obtain a permit and bird are: 1) have a valid
state hunting license; 2) get a licensed General or Master Class
falconer to sponsor and guide you through your two-year apprenticeship;
3) pass a written exam administered by Mass Fish & Wildlife; 4)
possess all essential equipment and a hawk house; 5) pass a state
inspection of your building and equipment; 6) pay $25 for a permit.

Selecting a proper bird -- choices are legally limited, depending
on one's level of expertise -- can be complicated. Breeders are so
competent, they can offer birds that are raised in a variety of
beneficial ways. Those hand-raised by and among people require extra
time and tend to cost more money. Others can be parent-raised, probably
the most common practice. Before purchase, their training can be started
in a number of ways, as well, each having a benefit for a specific need.

The birds for falconry are as diverse in cost and capability as
guns are for hunting. Discounting huge eagles, at the top of the list
for many practitioners are the supremely magnificent gyr (pronounced
jeer) falcons from the Arctic.

According to Krup, for falconers, "it's all about the
flight,'' and gyrs are powerful, fast, direct flyers that can
take your breath away. They fail, according to Krup, only in their
intolerance to heat -- an important concern in the hotbed of falconry in
the Middle East. The less magnificent Saker can handle heat, though, so
crosses of the two species are seen there sometimes as a necessary
compromise.

Once prohibitively expensive and the object of much poaching, gyrs
have been successfully bred in captivity, resulting in a precipitous
fall in their pricing. They once commanded as much as $10,000 on the
black market, but today common gray-colored gyrs can be bought for as
little as $2,000, according to Krup. The more striking and far less
common black-phase gyrs cost about $2,500, while the iconic white gyr
falcons command at least $3,000 and sometimes much more. Females -- 30
percent larger than males, like most raptors -- are much more desirable
as their greater power makes them perfect for duck hunting.

The star of falconry in America may be the peregrine, the fastest
animal on earth. Its incredible stoops from high altitudes can be most
dramatic. Once nearly extinct, it has recovered strongly, thanks to the
harmful pesticide DDT being banned in America, and to successful
breeding programs pioneered at Cornell University. Private breeding has
become so successful that the supply now exceeds the falconers'
demands, so prices have plummeted. Not long ago, they sold for $5,000.
One can now buy a male for as little as $600. A larger more desirable
female averages around $1,500.

Depending on the quarry you seek or the personality of bird that
suits you, there are other choices for falconry. The merlin is one of my
alternate favorites.

If a gyr falcon is like a Ferrari and a peregrine is like a
Porsche, the merlin would be well represented by an Austin Healey or MG
-- Small, fast, maneuverable, easy. Available at just $600 and weighing
about 220 grams, it can hunt starlings and other pest birds
dramatically. Hybridized with a peregrine and weighing around 400 grams,
it can be perfect where states permit dove hunting.

One bird that has captivated my imagination is the goshawk, which
can sell from $1,500 to $2,000. What warrants that high price is their
excellence in being hunted from the fist, usually behind a pointing dog.
Notoriously ill-tempered and highly strung, they can be challenging even
for their handlers to deal with. They're temperamentally opposite
peregrines, merlins, kestrels, and red-tails that seem affectionate in
comparison. And goshawks are fragile, susceptible to aspergilus, a
dangerous lung disease.

Another raptor that can be hunted from the fist -- one mostly
wild-trapped -- is the Cooper's hawk. They live only about eight
years, compared to 20 for gyrs and peregrines, but they're perfect
for quail hunting.

One liability of Cooper's hawks is the difficulty with their
weight management. They have a very high metabolism, and require being
kept strictly within a 3-gram weight variation. Birds in falconry have
to be fed enough to remain healthy, but hungry enough to be lured back
to the handler for a meal while freedom is in their grasp. If
Cooper's hawks are underfed, they can easily get sick. If
they're overfed, they can fly away for good.

Sharp-shinned hawks -- the killers of many songbirds at our feeders
-- are another bird that can dramatically be flown from the fist. They
have a quick, dynamic flight. But weighing only 200 grams, they can die
in the cold if they run out of food. They're excellent for hunting
pestiferous starlings and house sparrows, but they can't
differentiate between them and songbirds, which are illegal to hunt.

When a bird is taken from a raptor, one must swap its prey
immediately with meat. If you were to just take it away, the sharpy
would think you're stealing it and get in the habit of mantling the
kill (covering it with its wings) and screaming intolerably at your
approach.

But if all these birds are tempting, know that novices need to
start with either a red-tailed hawk or kestrel, the easiest birds to
acquire and master.

The affectionate red-tail is much beloved by many, and is by far
the most popular bird in Massachusetts falconry. They're relatively
easy to train, can be flown from the fist, or soar. The red-tail can
catch the wind on the slope of a hill and hunt almost like a falcon. It
makes a great partner, is common, and readily available to capture in
the wild. It excels at hunting for locally common ground game like
rabbits.

Kestrels aren't very popular in local falconry. They're
mostly known as grasshopper eaters, but they can be flown like little
rockets to pursue invasive and troublesome house sparrows year-round.
That drama may be miniaturized, but it's exciting, quick, and
dramatic. Kestrels are pretty, too, especially the bluish males.
They're smart, forgiving, and affectionate. Not captive-bred, they
require capturing out of the wild.

Contact Mark Blazis

at markblazis@charter.net

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